It's all about perspective.
While Phil is correct that the baseball team's future is brighter than it has been in quite some time, mostly thanks to the coaching of Kevin O'Sullivan, the softball team has already become a nationally recognized powerhouse.
The loss in the championship series to Washington was definitely a disappointment, especially for a team that entered the year with its sights set on nothing less than a national championship, but that's not the last time this team will play in Oklahoma City.
O'Sullivan is in the process of rebuilding a perennially successful baseball program here at UF, but he's about two years behind coach Tim Walton. Like the baseball team in 2009, the softball team fell in the Super Regionals in 2007. The next year, the Gators made it to the World Series, which O'Sullivan's team has a strong chance of doing in 2010.
As Phil said, a lot of our perspective has to do with the expectations each team faced. Winning a Regional made the baseball team's season an instant success, while a runner-up trophy turned a record-setting 63-5 softball season into a disappointment.
But recent history has shown that UF baseball doesn't exactly live up to expectations either. After making the College World Series championship series in 2005, the Gators started the 2006 season ranked No. 1 but finished .500 and didn't even make a Regional.
Don't expect a similar performance by the 2010 softball team.
With Stacey Nelson in the circle, 2009 may have been the Gators' best chance at a national championship, but they will be back in the WCWS - possibly even in 2010.
Walton will miss the talented senior class that played just as much of a role in building the program as he did - Nelson and Kim Waleszonia set record after record in their four years at UF.
However, Walton did something that I'm not convinced the baseball team has done yet: establish a deep recruiting base outside of Florida.
Out-of-state players on the baseball team are exceptions to the rule, while Walton has filled his roster with players from California, arguably the state with the most softball talent. Take a look at the new recruits for next season: two players from California, two from Florida and one from Texas.
The Gators have brought in a large recruiting class every other year recently, and I expect Walton to continue that tradition. He did so with the Class of 2011, which will likely be remembered as the most accomplished group to ever play in Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium by the time they leave.
It wasn't just about one particular class or two great years for the softball team. It was about developing a dynasty and building upon previous accomplishments to take the next step.
Although I think the baseball team will be in Omaha for the CWS next year, I feel much more certain that the softball team will become a mainstay in the WCWS for years to come.
It's easy to say the Gators won't be successful after losing Nelson, Waleszonia, Kristina Hilberth and Ali Gardiner, but keep in mind the success this year's baseball team and the 2008 softball team had with lower expectations. And it's not like the Gators will have to completely rebuild next year.
The team got along fine without Waleszonia when she missed most of the season with an injury, and the Gators showed their depth and versatility at the plate during her absence.
UF will miss Hilberth's leadership more than her ability to slap-hit the ball practically wherever she wanted to, as hitting won't be an issue for the 2010 Gators. Eight of the team's top 10 batters will return next year, and Tiffany DeFelice, who dealt with an on-again-off-again wrist injury all season, is far more capable than her numbers in 2009 might suggest.
Stephanie Brombacher likely won't be as dominant as Nelson was during her junior year, but she won't need to be with her offense pushing runs across the plate.
UF also led the Southeastern Conference to softball prominence over the last two years. A few teams - notably Tennessee when Monica Abbott was pitching - have found success, but 2009 was the best year the SEC ever had, as the conference put three teams in the final four of the WCWS.
In a sport absolutely dominated by the Pac-10, that's no small task. But many other SEC teams followed in UF's footsteps of recruiting talent from the west coast and pulled the conference into a virtual dead heat with the Pac-10 this season - with UF leading the pack.
So although O'Sullivan had a successful year and has brought the UF baseball program back into the national spotlight along with the potential for an even better effort next year, he's going to have to share the limelight with Walton and the softball team. Don't expect either set of Gators on the diamond to go anywhere anytime soon.
